DISQUS

steve · 1 year ago

i've been contemplating the purchase of a notebook for a while now. with regards to the new ones:

i use the chicklet style keyboard at work and already prefer it to anything else i've ever used - but thats a personal opinion and i respect the loyalists to the scissor switch style of previous mbp keyboards (also great to type on, but a pain to keep clean).

i work in video by trade, but not as a colourist, and i have a nice matte cinema display to hook up when it counts. my roommate has a glossy imac which looks nice enough to me, so again i'd be ok with the new models - but i fully support those who find it unacceptable. apple should have found a way to keep the matte option alive for people bothered by reflections and people who prefer it for colour work.

so technically i'd be ok with the new mbp, but i am irked for 2 reasons:
1) they cut firewire from the new macbook, which feels like a measure designed solely to force people who have already invested in firewire devices to pony up for the mbp when the macbook specs would otherwise meet their needs. shitty tactics in my book. the reduction to a single fw800 port on the mpb is a little more flexible, but still falls sort of a proper pro-level solution.

2) they upped the prices as you noted and hobbled the student discount... or ahem... the "parents who happen to be teachers" discount, now that i'm graduated ;) combined with their less pro-like qualities, this is a bit of a turn off.

so in conclusion, apple of late seems to exude a "screw the long term customer in favour of making new ones" approach, which makes me wonder if they'll retain their current ubiquity amongst media professionals. and yet, i'm still chomping the bit for getting hold of one of these new systems. they really are a bit of a cult, aren't they?